5/5 ⭐ | All Hope of Becoming Human by Lonnie Busch

Across the world strange phenomena is happening.  Bodies are being found with their heads severed clear off or split wide open with surgical precision.  Large cavities in the Earth seem to be opening, revealing large metallic objects buried within them.  In particular, one such location in Arizona near the four corners, is subject to a classified archeological study, under the close watchful eye of the United States military. 

Concurrently, Special Agent Demzey is investigating these odd occurrences and the beings seemingly behind them.  As part of a special government branch that explores the abnormal and mysterious.  Agent Demzey is no stranger to the paranormal, but even he is having trouble rationalizing what may be behind this. 

As the archeological dig site near the four corners is shut down due to tremors and safety concerns, assistant archologist, Rebecca Duccati seems oddly drawn back to it.  The hundreds of bones uncovered within, both humanoid and something else, as well as the unidentified metal object (UMO) leave her feeling a strange sort of attraction.  Risking it all, Dr. Duccati and Agent Demzey are determined to find answers.

We’ve all seen the movies and TV shows depicting aliens, other life forms, and extraterrestrial beings, but we’ve never seen anything like this.  From the United States to Japan, India, and beyond, the world is experiencing the unexplainable.  Chasms are opening up, superhuman beings are inflicting violence, and the media is feeding the public more lines regarding acts of terrorism.

Author Lonnie Busch delivers a post-apocalyptic, science fiction page-turner like you’ve never seen before.  Absolutely captivating, readers will find themselves simultaneously repulsed and fascinated, drawn in and ready to run for cover. 

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5/5 ⭐ | They Say Love Conquers All: A Multicultural Interracial, Military Romance (The Men of Throne Enterprises) by Lotchie Burton

“They Say Love Conquers All” will rip your heart out.  With an inside view of military life, being a spouse, never knowing when they’ll be home or if you’ll ever even get to see them alive again.  This read provides an eye-opening perspective.  Uncle Sam doesn’t care that he’s taking you from your family on Thanksgiving, he doesn’t care if you’ve made other plans you won’t be able to keep, you are there to serve your country, and yet so many feel your absence in your wake. 

Captain Richard “Rick” Thorne has always been okay with this.  Until something happens to one of Rick’s teammates that forces everyone to re-examine their feelings, priorities, and suppressed struggles.  When Rick and his team ship off, Nylah and the rest of the women they leave behind are left with so many uncertainties.  Where are they going, will they be able to call, will they be injured, or worse?  Not everyone can handle the pressures of military life on relationships.  Nylah is no stranger to being left behind, hiding behind a mask of her own, but can her relationship with Rick survive this?

My own father was in the military.  As a kid I always heard my mother’s heart break as he shipped off for nine or more months at a time.  The loneliness, the refusal to join in on anything just so you weren’t too busy to miss his call, it’s hard for any relationship to bear.  As a child you don’t realize the sacrifices being made.  Even as a wife I don’t think it ever hit me what my own mother went through…until I read this book. 

“They Say Love Conquers All” lifts the veil and shows readers military relationships in a whole new light.  Author Lotchie Burton does a great job providing both the male and female perspective.  Showing the struggles from both ends of the spectrum, this book offers an emotional and realistic view of love in the military.  Centering on Rick and Nylah, Burton presents an inside look at external relationship factors as they test their bond.  From the action on a mission to the debrief, the anxieties on the home front and struggles to cope, this read offers an extraordinarily powerful perspective while drawing readers in on the traumas of the past and hopes for the future.

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The Land Beneath Us (Sunrise at Normandy #3) by Sarah Sundin

Publication Date: February 4^th, 2020

Rating: 4 stars

Clay Paxton is the final Paxton brother wrapping up the final installment of this series.  Clay finds himself waiting to fulfill the premonition he keeps seeing in his dreams of how he dies.  However, when he meets, saves and marries Leah Jones he starts having second thoughts about God’s premonition of his death. 

The Land Beneath Us is so different and yet entirely as satisfying as the first two books in this series.  Author, Sarah Sundin, wastes no time in digging into Clay’s past and family history despite waiting to tackle the family drama in the first two reads and while this book continues to both stand alone or as part of the series, the family crisis takes much more of a front seat. Sundin also approached deeper themes in this novel as she addressed orphans, mixed races and more. 

I could not have thought of a better final book in this incredible series.  The characters jump out of the pages and the messages of love, forgiveness and perseverance flow through.

*Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

The Way of the Brave (Global Search and Rescue #1) by Susan Warren

Publication Date: January 7^th, 2020

Rating: 4 Stars

Orion’s past is full of heartbreak. After serving in the military and losing his knee and several friends, he returns to Alaska to hide out where he’s comfortable, at the foot of Denali mountain.

Jenny is a psychiatrist in Minnesota. After leaving the CIA and working to move past the mistake that still haunts her she’s taken up climbing.   Her goal is to summit Denali with two of her closest friends.

But when her, and her friends go missing at the peak, Orion can’t sit back and do nothing. Plus, Jenny looked so familiar to Orion when he saw her in town, he can’t shake it.

This heart pounding tale holds so much heroism and romance in its icy grip. A more action-packed tale than The Mountain Between Us, author Warren’s expert understanding, and detail, makes the reader feel as if they are right there freezing on the icy slope with the rest of the group. However, the Senator’s side story seemed out of place as a beginning and end cap to the read. A seemingly half-hearted attempt to set up a series. And, while both the men and women introduced in The Way of the Brave would make for a welcome series, this book may have read better as a standalone.

*Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Character Carved in Stone: The 12 Core Virtues of West Point that Build Leaders and Produce Success by Pat Williams, Jim Denney, Mike Krzyzewski (Foreword)

Publication Date: February 5^th, 2019

Rating: 3 Stars

Authors, Pat Williams and Jim Denney, have paired up to write several leadership based books, including Coach Wooden’s Forgotten Teams: Stories and Lessons from John Wooden’s Summer Basketball Camps. In this, the second book read by author duo, I continue to be amazed by the niche in which they are able to theme their book, but the broad audience in which the lessons apply.

Character Carved in Stone: The 12 Core Virtues of West Point that Build Leaders and Produce Success provides engaging military history with valuable and applicable leadership lessons. For instance, determination is important to achieve your goals whether one is a business leader, coach or military general. Similarly, like military leaders, when you let employees or soldiers make their own decisions and stand back without interference, you show your subordinates that you trust them and simultaneously earn their trust right back.

These lessons are just a few of what you can expect to uncover through an extensive dive into the history and traditions of the West Point Military Academy. Each chapter does a great job following a military hero that stood out in portraying the values and virtues of West Point. This intriguing read of war history and insight shows the steadfast leadership characteristics applicable to both the battle field and board room.

*Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.